This invention relates generally to gas turbine engine rotor assemblies, and more specifically to bearing assemblies for gas turbine engine rotor assemblies.
Gas turbine engines typically include a rotor assembly, a compressor, and a turbine. The rotor assembly includes a fan that includes an array of fan blades extending radially outward from a rotor shaft. The rotor shaft transfers power and rotary motion from the turbine to the compressor and the fan and is supported longitudinally with a plurality of bearing assemblies. Additionally, the rotor assembly has an axis of rotation that passes through a rotor assembly center of gravity. Known bearing assemblies include rolling elements and a paired race, wherein the rolling elements are supported within the paired race. To maintain rotor critical speed margin, the rotor assembly is supported on three bearing assemblies, one of which is a thrust bearing assembly and a second pair of which are roller bearing assemblies. The thrust bearing assembly supports the rotor shaft and minimizes axial and radial movement of the rotor shaft assembly. The remaining roller bearing assemblies support radial movement of the rotor shaft.
During operation of the engine, a fragment of a fan blade may become separated from the remainder of the blade. Accordingly, a substantial rotary unbalance load may be created within the damaged fan and carried substantially by the fan shaft bearings, the fan bearing supports, and the fan support frames.
To minimize the effects of potentially damaging abnormal imbalance loads, known engines include support components for the fan rotor support system that are sized to provide additional strength for the fan support system. However, increasing the strength of the support components undesirably increases an overall weight of the engine and decreases an overall efficiency of the engine when the engine is operated without substantial rotor imbalances.
Other known engines include a bearing support that includes a mechanically weakened section, or primary fuse, that decouples the fan rotor from the fan support system. During such events, the fan shaft seeks a new center of rotation that approximates that of its unbalanced center for gravity. This fuse section, in combination with a rotor clearance allowance, is referred to as a load reduction device, or LRD. The LRD reduces the rotating dynamic loads to the fan support system.
After the primary fuse fails, the pitching fan rotor often induces a large moment to a next closest bearing. The next closest bearing is known as the number two bearing position. The moment induced to the number two bearing induces high bending and stress loads to the fan rotor locally. To relieve the high bending stresses, the radial and pitching rotation stiffness of the number two bearing position are often softened or released. However, in order to maintain a safe shutdown and subsequent windmill of the engine during the time it takes to land an aircraft, the remaining bearing assemblies must remain functional and maintain radial stiffness to provide fan critical speed margin above a fly home windmilling speed.
In one aspect of the invention, a method for reducing dynamic loading of a gas turbine engine is provided. The engine includes a rotor shaft assembly that includes a rotor shaft, a bearing assembly, a mounting joint, a support frame, and at least one mechanical fuse. The method includes supporting the rotor shaft on the gas turbine engine support frame with a bearing assembly including an inner race, an outer race, and a rolling element, coupling a mounting joint including a spherical surface to the bearing assembly, coupling at least one mechanical fuse to the mounting joint spherical surface, and operating the gas turbine engine.
In another aspect, a bearing assembly for a gas turbine engine rotor is provided. The bearing assembly includes a paired race, a bearing, a mounting joint, and a plurality of mechanical fuses. The paired race includes an outer race and an inner race. The bearing is between the inner and outer races, and is configured to support the rotor on a support frame. The mounting joint includes a joint inner race and a joint outer race. At least one of the joint inner race and the joint outer race includes a spherical surface. The mounting joint is configured to reduce dynamic loads to the gas turbine engine structure and static bending to the rotor. The plurality of mechanical fuses extend through at least one of the joint inner race and the joint outer race.
In a further aspect, a rotor assembly is provided. The rotor assembly includes a rotor shaft, a support frame, a bearing assembly, and at least one mechanical fuse. The bearing assembly supports the rotor shaft to the support frame, and is configured to reduce dynamic loads to the support frame. The bearing assembly includes a paired race, a rolling element, and a mounting joint. The paired race includes an outer race and an inner race. The rolling element is between the outer and inner races. The mounting joint includes a spherical surface. Each mechanical fuse extends through the mounting joint.